Friendship

It has been one month since I have gotten electricity (yahoo!), and I have yet to blog about it (or anything for that matter). Now that I have electricity, I can use my computer more often and start telling you more about my awesome and exciting adventures.

I was talking to a friend a few weeks ago, and she was telling me about something she read in my blog, and the topic she had read was utterly and completely boring. I can’t remember what it was that she had read, but from here on out, I promise to make my material a tad more reader friendly.

So, November 13, 2013 was the day I finally received electricity in my nice little home. So, that is 63 weeks or 439 days or 10,536 hours I lived without electricity. And I can honestly say I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Yes, it was extremely difficult to deal with at first. How will I charge my phone? How will I read at night? What do you mean I can’t watch any of the hundreds of movies I loaded onto my hard drive? At the time, I was pretty bummed about it. But as time has gone by, I have really appreciated not having those lights. It made me get out of the house, meet people, experience Ghana.

I found a place in town where I could charge my phone. I became friends with several of the teachers at the high school in town who let me use their offices whenever I need to use my laptop. And because I left my house frequently, I have met some pretty amazing people.

When I am having a rough day teaching math or grading exams, it cheers me up to just sit and chat with the friends I have made in the village and in town. Working at the school is only part of what I am doing here. Another part is experiencing this culture. And the best way to do that is to get out there, make friends, and simply talk.

I recently read a blog where the author wrote about how scary it is going to a new place not knowing anybody. And I couldn’t agree more. It’s terrifying. But it’s also so rewarding when you finally find a friend or a group of friends you can share anything with. Now, I will tell you, I don’t have hundreds of friends in this place, but I do have a handful of extremely close friends. Quality is better than quantity. At least for me. And I want to give a shout out to those friends. Now, they probably won’t ever read my blog, but I just want to be able to recognize those people because they have given so much to me without even realizing it.

Kello – You inspire me to be a better teacher. You have so much passion for your students and so much motivation, that I hope to one day teach like you.

Thompson – You have so much knowledge and such a great sense of humor. It’s amazing how you combine both of these traits, and having conversations with you is always entertaining.

Slim Macho – You’re one in a million. You are always joking around, and even when I am having a long day, when you show up, you always make me laugh and help me realize not to take things so seriously. Rahi – You’re so young and beautiful and you have so much ahead of you. You’re such a kind hearted person, and I know you will always be there for me.

Zakia and Zenabu – You two always make me laugh and we always have so much fun together. Even though you hate it when I beat you at Ludu. Even if we don’t see each other for a few weeks, I know when we meet up again, it will just be like last time.

Aisha (and little Tahani) – Aisha, you are such an inspiration. You have such a positive outlook on life, you are such a hard worker, and you are simply amazing. I don’t know how you do it. You inspire me to want to be a better person, and I love you for that.

Roger – Words cannot describe the love I have for you. You are simply amazing and have made this whole experience magnificent. You have been there from the very first day, and I couldn’t have asked for a better neighbor, a better friend, and a better Ghanaian father.

Saana – There is so much that I could say. I remember you promised my mother that you would take care of me and help me not miss home so much. And I must say, you have more than lived up to that promise. Yes, I miss home like crazy, but you somehow make it bearable. There is plenty more that I could say, but I don’t want to bore the readers and get all sappy.

So, this is not how I intended this blog post to go. I was going to just talk about getting electricity and what it was like without it, what it’s like now, all that jazz. But I think this post took a turn for the best.

In a nutshell, everything that has happened so far in this crazy and amazing experience has brought me to where I am today, and I wouldn’t want to change a thing.